Creative Parallax Scrolling

Parallax scrolling is a technique used in computer graphics that creates an illusion of depth in the 2D image. Essentially, the background scrolls by more slowly than the foreground does, mimicking the way things which are far away seem to move more slowly than things which are closer.

Although this is associated with computer graphics, the technique has its origins in the 1940s, when animators used the multiplane camera technique to add depth to their images. In that technique, the animators would draw the background and other animation elements on separate panels. The panels would be layered over each other in a contraption that kept the panels separate, and they would be pulled or changed, then photographed. By allowing the panels to move independently, the animators could create an effect that made it look like things were moving at different speeds. This was perfected in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, when the evil witch drinks a potion which makes the things in the room spin around here.

In the 1980s, computer games developers wanted to bring that same effect to their artwork, so they developed parallax scrolling, where the foreground, middle ground and background move at different speeds to give a sense of depth. This technique became popularised after its use in the game Moon Patrol.

The path and rover in the foreground moved at a different speed to the hills in the middle ground and the mountains in the background, which, although it looks simple enough today, was truly revolutionary in the early 1980s.

Today, a generation of developers and designers raised on computer games and other digital graphics have applied the parallax scrolling technique to websites. Read on to see some of the most creative parallax scrolling websites on the internet today.

This website uses parallax scrolling to quietly emphasise the design, which reflects the feeling many people who are addicted to drugs feel. The website is there to support those people, so it is a crucial message to get across.